This isn't a rant or even an opinion either way, just curiosity:

Is it just me, or have OT3s gotten much more popular & prominent in media fandom over the last couple of years? I'm thinking especially of White Collar and Leverage, but my vague impression is that they've become more mainstream across the board.

The ones that I'm most used to seeing mentioned are mainly of the "Two Men & a Woman" variety (with Legend of the Seeker's Richard/Kahlan/Cara being the only major exception that springs to mind). So I'm inclined to wonder whether the rise of OT3s partly represents a move within slash fandom to explore alternative approaches to canonical female love interests. Is that too simplistic? Are there other explanations of the OT3 boom (assuming I'm not just imagining it)? Or am I just not seeing the major "Three Men" or "Three Woman" or "Two Women & a Man" variants that are out there?

Just wondering!